This study explores what organizational strategies are employed to initiate and facilitate organizational change in higher education institutions in the increasingly complex and competitive postsocialist environment of Bosnia-Herzegovina. By studying organizations trapped between their inert socialist-era legacies and desired organizational models, the findings revealed a politicized nature of sense making as a main facilitator of organizational change process. In particular, in arenas of collective sense making, the promotion of change initiatives depends on the ability of the organizational elite to coordinate action toward ambiguous goals. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, and 9 notes.)